


Please Man Crush Responsibly

by enjayas



Series: Please Drink Responsibly [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bi-awakening, Bisexuality, Galaxy Garrison, Garrison trio, Gay Panic, High School, Homecoming, M/M, Masturbation, Multiship, Second-Hand Embarrassment, klance, man crushes, shance, shiro's chest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enjayas/pseuds/enjayas
Summary: Shiro is Lance's bi-awakening. Gay panic ensues. Also, Keith and Lance meet each other for the first time and boy, do they not like each other.Lance is 16 and a student at Galaxy Garrison.





	Please Man Crush Responsibly

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the earliest story in the PDR Universe! It can be read as a stand-alone. Lance is 16 and a student at Galaxy Garrison. This one-shot features the Garrison Trio and most of the rest of the crew too as well as a heck of a lot of GAY PANIC!
> 
> For anyone confused or new to this series, this is a heavily multiship AU with Klance endgame.  
> The primary ship in this story is Shance. (With a little bit of klance too as you’ll get to see how they met for the first time - spoiler - it involves Shiro!)
> 
> I've had this story in mind since before P--R but never got around to writing it until now. ^^;;
> 
> Massive thank you to @sanbika for beta reading!

  


“Alright short stack, let’s see who reigns supreme this time.” With an ever-present sideways smirk in place, Lance bailed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang and began obsessively refreshing a webpage on his phone.

Pidge, a.k.a. known prodigy Katie Holt, little sister to the Garrison’s other resident genius and senior Matt Holt, was at his side doing the same while the third of their friend group, Hunk Garrett, famous for his fudge brownies and meticulousness in both the kitchen and the chem lab, lagged behind them, fumbling with a binder of messy papers.

It was nearing the end of the fall quarter at Galaxy Garrison, the best high school around for science and aeronautics and class ranks were soon to be posted. Students who had been jockeying for position were anxiously awaiting the results, including one hopeful sophomore, Lance McClain. He’d really stepped up his studying after the near wash-out disaster that had been his freshman year and it was paying off in droves.

“Come on, come on... I crammed all night for this.” Lance muttered to his smart device.

“Cram all you want, Lance, you’re never going to beat me.” Pidge remained confident.

“Oh yeah? Then why are you checking the scores too? Scared much?” Lance countered.

“Hardly.” Pidge scoffed and put her phone back in her pocket.

The two other boys remained affixed to their phone screens waiting for the most recent exam scores to post.

“Uh oh...” Hunk said. His phone had evidently loaded first.

“Uh oh? What do you mean _uh oh_?” Lance was quick to invade his friend’s personal space to try to get a look at his screen. But being shorter and faster, Pidge got there first and her giant head blocked his view. “Pidge! Move!” Lance complained loudly.

“Hah! Number one, K. Holt. Hell yeah! I still got it.” She dusted off her sleeves.

“What? No way…” Lance slumped in defeat and was dismayed to see his name was not, in fact, on top of the list. “Ugh, you’re not even supposed to be in this class!” He griped to his younger classmate. Homecoming was approaching. Lance had been hoping to take top spot and use it as leverage with the ladies to score an enviable date to the dance. Pidge, however, had shown up and deprived him of the privilege. A full three years younger, she’d been granted permission to take sophomore classes as a middle schooler, and boy, did she never let them forget it.

“Face it, McClain, you’re no match for a Holt.” She gloated while straightening her spectacles.

“Ugh, whatever. Second place is probably enough to impress Jenny.” Lance reworked his angle. “After all, you know what they say, first is the worst, but second...” Teeth flashed in a cocky sideways smile. “ _Second_ is the best.”

“Uh, yeah that is what they say, but buddy…” Hunk shot him a grimace. “You’re not even second.”

“Say _what?!_ ” Lance squawked and snatched his friend’s phone from his hand. 

It was true.

"I'm… Third?”

Third? _THIRD?_

Pidge immediately began to cackle.

“THIRD IS THE NERD! THIRD IS THE NERD!” She sang on her way down the hall for the whole school to hear.

“Who the hell beat me?” Perplexed, Lance hung back with Hunk.

“Someone named K. Kogane.” Hunk answered but didn’t know who it was either.

Lance inwardly bristled. It was a name he’d noticed rising in the ranks over the last few months but he hadn’t thought anything of it.

Until now.

“Don’t take it too hard, Lance.” Hunk smiled kindly as the hall emptied out. “You’ve still got plenty going for you to ask Jenny or whoever else out.”

Lance frowned. He wasn’t even thinking about all the girls he wanted to ask to homecoming. There was something far more pressing on his mind. What he wanted to know was...

“Who the hell is K. Kogane?”

\---

“K. Kogane? No idea.”

Lance asked around at lunch. The students at the next table over didn’t seem to know either and shrugged with disinterest, annoyance even, after being hounded for information one by one.

Lance returned to his seat and huffed in front of his cafeteria tray and the lunch he’d barely touched. He wasn’t hungry. It was one thing to be out-scored by Pidge, but everyone else should have been fair game.

“I just want to know who this guy is.” He lamented for the dozenth time while pushing food he didn’t intend to eat around his plate. “I bet he’s a fuckin’ nobody. I could totally take him!” He hit a fist into his hand as though his twiggy arms would be of any use in a physical altercation.

“Why do you assume it’s a guy, Lance?” Pidge side-eyed him. “I’m a girl and I clobbered you.”

“Yeah, but you’re _Pidge_. But, oh snap. Oh SNAP! What if you’re right? What if K. Kogane is actually totally hot babe! And what if she’s single! Maybe she’d even go to homecoming with me.” Eyebrows began to waggle. “Yes, I can see it now… She’d be my number two, I’d be her number three. We’d take the dance by storm, be the power couple of the hour, the envy and aspiration of our adoring peers...” 

Pidge rolled her eyes at the far-fetched fantasy being concocted before her very eyes.

“It speaks volumes that you think it’s hot being outmatched by a girl but when it’s a guy you’re inspired to assert physical dominance.” She muttered something about wannabe alpha males and toxic masculinity under her breath.

“Yeah, why do you care so much?” Hunk interjected. “Look at me, I’m seventeenth and you don’t see me stressing.”

“Yeah, and how many dates to homecoming do you have?” Lance snapped.

His friend looked hurt. 

“Hey, man… Not cool.” 

Even Lance had to admit, that was low, but he was too consumed by his own woes to acknowledge his harshness or to apologize for it.

The group continued to eat lunch while Lance brooded in silence until-

“Found it!” Pidge announced over her phone. “The intel on one, K. Kogane.”

“Really? Who is she? Please tell me she’s hot. But not too hot. Like, just hot enough that she’ll still go out with me. And that she’s single. Pidge, PLEASE?” Lance pressed.

Pidge’s eye twitched at her friend.

“Unfortunately, Lance, your first assumption was correct. K. Kogane is, in fact, a he.”

Lance sank to the table in dismay.

“And _he_ is a transfer student. Been here a couple months, apparently, but has been serving an in-school suspension for most of it. I guess that’s why we haven’t seen him.”

“Really? What’d he do?” Lance was eager to size up his competition.

“Punched a guy. Broke his nose. May have threatened a teacher too.”

“Oh, shit...” Lance sat up straighter.

“Not so brave now, are you, Lance?” Hunk muttered with crossed arms.

“Shut up, Hunk.”

“Interesting…” Pidge’s eyebrow twitched again.

“What? What’s interesting?” Lance was instantly hooked.

“You might be in luck, Lance.” Sneaky eyes lifted to her inquiring friend across the table, who was waiting with bated breath. “Because rumor has it... That he’s gay. So maybe you will have a date to homecoming after all.” She grinned evilly.

Lance sneered at the suggestion.

“Where are you getting all this anyways?” He wasn’t convinced she wasn’t making it all up.

“From Matt.”

“How does he know?”

“Heard it from Shiro.”

“SHIRO!” Lance cried and nearly tipped his seat backwards. “Whoa, whoa, whoa... As in Shiro? THE Shiro? Takashi Shirogane? That guy’s a legend! What the hell’s he doing hanging out with a nerd like Matt?”

“I dunno, maybe because they’re _friends?_ ” Pidge defended her brother.

Lance was taken aback. Shiro was the best student that had ever graduated the Galaxy Garrison. He’d been involved in a major police sting not long back and had come out maimed but a hero. There’d been articles in the newspapers about him for weeks. He probably had all the luck with the ladies. Lance wanted to be just like him.

“Hang on a second…” Lance did his best to hold it together. “Are you telling me Takashi Shirogane has, like, _been over to your house_ and you never said anything?”

“Yeah, he comes over sometimes.” Pidge thought nothing of it which only irritated Lance further. 

“DUDE!” The lanky sophomore flailed at the betrayal. “CALL ME NEXT TIME?” He’d have killed to meet a guy like Shiro. 

“Maybe.” Pidge shrugged. “If you stop being so much of a dick about homecoming.”

Lance huffed at the accusation.

“So why would Shiro know anything about this Kogane guy anyways?” Lance pouted while slurping loudly from his milk carton.

“I guess they probably know each other too,” Pidge snipped, annoyed that they were still on the subject.

That shut Lance up. Not only was this K. Kogane getting better grades than him, but he might know Shiro too?

Lance hated him.

\---

PE was not usually the subject to bolster Lance’s mood, but that afternoon he easily finished the timed mile faster than most of his class and, more importantly, faster than Pidge. 

He waited near the finish line to gloat.

“At least there’s one subject where I'll always beat you!” He smirked to his short friend as she clocked in at just over ten minutes.

“Whatever- Lance.” Pidge gasped for air and doubled over onto her knees. “PE isn't a- a real subject- anyways.”

Lance snickered at her retort and together they waited for Hunk.

When everyone had finished, Lance and the other kids who cared crowded around the whiteboard in the gymnasium while Coach Iverson finished writing the top times for the week.

To Lance's dismay, his hard-earned sub-eight mile wasn't enough to even break the top ten.

Screw PE. Pidge was right. It wasn’t a real subject.

But Lance did notice someone who was top ten.

K. Kogane.

And not just top ten, but top _five_. With a mind-boggling time of 6:45, a full minute faster than him.

"What the hell? Who is this guy?"

Lance ran his finger under the name on the whiteboard and contemplated erasing it out of spite.

"He ran it for me this morning." A voice spoke behind him, deep and booming but with a gentleness, a soothing quality to it. It calmed Lance on the spot and made a satisfying shiver run down his spine. He wanted that voice to keep talking even if it was only to suffer the news that someone had bested him yet again.

“Where’s your time?” It asked.

“Here.” Lance pointed. “I barely made the top twenty-five…” 

“7:47? That’s not a bad time at all,” the voice said. “You should consider going out for track with a time like that.” A metal hand tapped the white board where Lance’s time was posted. 

Lance’s heart skipped a beat. He recognized that arm. From the newspapers. And TV. It couldn’t be. Surely he was seeing things. There was only one guy out there who had an arm like that.

“Alright, class. Gather ‘round.” Coach Iverson called them all over. “We’ve got something very special for you today.” 

Lance whipped around and didn’t take his eyes off the man who had spoken behind him. A man who was now heading to the front of the cluster of students to stand next to the teacher. 

That arm. That build. That white forelock... Lance rubbed his eyes to be sure it was true, but it was really him. It was-

“This is Takashi Shirogane,” Coach Iverson went on. “A former cadet who’s here to help instruct and I highly recommend you all be on your best behavior because, as I’m sure you already know, Commander Shirogane, here-”

“Please, you can all call me Shiro,” the guest instructor insisted, seemingly nervous at the formalities.

Lance swallowed a gobstopper-sized lump in his throat. Suddenly he was all about PE. It was his best subject, had been all along.

The class was split up into groups. The majority of which were sent to play three-on-three basketball scrimmages while one group at a time was called over to work at the punching bags with Shiro.

Lance barely tried at basketball. His team lost quickly, but he didn’t care. He was anxiously awaiting his turn on the punching bag and spent the interim trying to recall everything he knew about martial arts from the one karate class he’d taken as a kid. Unfortunately, he recalled more from Power Rangers than his limited formal training.

Regardless, when it was his turn, he was ready. He stepped up to the bag with the world at stake.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got, cadet.” Shiro held it for him.

Lance focused. This was his moment. He was about to pull off the best damn hit of his life and Takashi Shirogane was going to be there to see it. He took a deep breath then slammed his fist into the bag with gusto and made sure to follow through, so much so that he landed a little off-kilter and almost didn’t stay on his feet.

“I can see you’re trying really hard.” Shiro stepped in. “Just relax a little. Don’t force it. And remember to keep your other hand up to block. It’ll help you balance too.”

Lance locked eyes with him but was too shy to say anything. That gobstopper was back in full force. He refocused his attention and tried again, less hard.

His fist landed dead-center of the bag with an impressive _thud_ then snapped back into position so he was ready to fire off another punch. Lance’s balance was so impeccable that even he was surprised by it and the entire display elicited some whispered _‘whoa’_ s from his classmates.

“Nice job!” Shiro cried. “Sorry, what was your name?”

“L-Lance.” His heart was beating fast. Takashi Shirogane wanted to know who he was.

“Excellent work, Lance. You have a knack for this. Keep at it and you can train with me one day.”

Lance’s chest swelled with pride. He nodded and got right back to practicing. His eyes drifted to Shiro as he moved on to help another student with their footwork.

Shiro, THE Takashi Shirogane, had complemented him on his form. Had said HE could train with him one day. Maybe Shiro would even take him under his wing and they could get to know each other, become best buds, and hang out often. Lance would like that. He’d like that very much.

“Lance, look out!” Pidge cried.

Next thing Lance knew he was on the floor staring at the lights. 

“Easy, don’t get up too fast.” Shiro helped him sit up.

“What the hell happened?” Lance asked in a daze.

“You took a chest pass to the head,” Pidge explained.

“Sorry, buddy. Don’t know my own strength.” Hunk cowered mid-apology.

“Oh.” Lance was embarrassed and disappointed. To get leveled like that... In front of Shiro... And just when he’d been doing so well too. It didn’t help that there were already some girls snickering in the back. “Whatever I’m fine.” He ignored the dull throbbing in his head and pulled himself upright, stumbling a little as he got to his feet.

“How about you sit out the rest of class? There’s not much time left anyways.” Shiro suggested and helped him over to a bench.

Lance dropped onto it mortified and moody. Shiro was never going to think he was a good fighter now, not after being KO’ed by a basketball of all things. But at least he had a better view from the bleachers of the girls in their ponytails and short gym shorts. And of Shiro. The way he moved was magnificent. His athleticism shone through in every motion, every stride. And his charisma, the way he smiled and encouraged every student... Lance wanted Shiro to smile at him like that. 

He quickly cleared his throat and averted his eyes before anyone caught him looking. It was probably weird to be watching a guy for so long like that.

Too soon, class was over.

Hoping to catch Shiro afterwards and somehow salvage his tarnished credibility, Lance was reluctant to leave the gymnasium, but the guest coach was nowhere to be found, likely having already retreated to the coaches’ offices. Lance sighed with disappointment, got changed quickly to make up the time, and joined up with his friends.

“For the last time, I’m fine.” He waved off Hunk’s concern again as they headed down the hall to their next class.

“If you’re so fine then where's your backpack?” Pidge pointed out.

Lance stopped mid-stride.

His backpack... He’d left it in the locker room.

“Shit!” He about-faced and raced down the hall back to the gym.

The gymnasium was empty when he returned. Lance's quick footsteps and squeaking sneakers echoed through the large space as he beelined to the locker room. He peeked around the corner for Iverson first but the coast was clear.

It was humid inside from the showers some of the students opted to take after PE. Lance tiptoed down the aisle of lockers and thankfully was not so concussed that he didn’t remember his combination. He fiddled with the lock then snagged his backpack out of the locker fast. He slammed it shut and nearly jumped out of his skin when he discovered that he was no longer alone.

In the same row of lockers with him, wearing a towel - and nothing but a towel - was former cadet and guest coach Takashi Shirogane. A trail of wet footprints were behind him. His hair and white forelock were damp, his shoulders were too, and Lance’s brain just about broke seeing him shirtless like that. If his physical prowess was a thing to behold while he was _in_ his clothes, it was downright blinding without them.

Shiro noticed him and looked over.

“Oh, hi there. Did you need something?"

“Boobs...” Lance blurted out, not taking his eyes off Shiro’s chest.

Shiro’s eyebrows rose with surprise. He cleared his throat while quickly reaching for his shirt and pretended he hadn’t heard that.

"Lance, right?” He asked, pulling the white undershirt over his head and then down to properly cover his torso. 

“Ah, yeah, Lance. It’s Lance. I’m Lance.” The stunned sophomore remembered his own name a moment later.

“Well, you’d better hurry up, Lance. Don’t let Iverson catch you. If I remember anything from my time here, it’s that detention with him is no fun.”

“No way… A guy like you got detention?” Lance was amazed.

“Many times.” Shiro smirked. 

“Whoa...” Lance marveled. Shiro was even cooler than he’d imagined.

“Here, I’ll save you the trouble and write you a hall pass.” Shiro offered after eyeing the time. “But just this once.” He added sternly.

Still in awe, Lance watched a thick arm work while Shiro rifled through his gym bag for a pad of approved hall passes and idly wondered how much he’d have to curl to get arms like that. Shiro scribbled something on the pad then extended a slip blue of paper to him.

Lance moved to take it like it was a thing of great value, something to be treasured forever. His gaze flitted to the chest in front of him again as he accepted the pass. Shiro’s nipples were poking through his undershirt and suddenly Lance needed to get out of there. _Fast._

He snatched the hall pass, muttered a hasty _‘Thanks'_ , and was gone.

“Bye, Lance,” Shiro called over his shoulder while the flustered student hurried away. He shook his head and chuckled to himself after. 

“Teenagers.”

Lance raced to one of the lesser trafficked bathrooms and shut himself in the far stall. Flush-faced and breathing hard, he leaned against the bathroom wall. The image of Shiro's bare chest and his protruding nipples were burned into his brain.

He’d never seen boobs in person before. Not like that, anyways. But Shiro was a man so, was that weird? Did that even count? 

Lance decided it did. His dick was hard enough to merit it.

Pants were unzipped in hurry.

A few minutes later, a wad of tissue paper made its way into the toilet. Lance flushed it with his foot and was paralized by a sudden realization. 

Had he just jerked off to another dude? More specifically, to thoughts of another dude’s chest?

No... No, not entirely. There were some thoughts of Jenny’s chest in there too. And Alyssa Hamilton's. She had the best rack at the Garrison. He definitely wasn’t gay.

...Right?

Teetering on the edge of panic, Lance managed to brush it off. Shiro’s tits were practically as big as Alyssa’s anyways. He went on to forget about the whole thing entirely and got on with his week. After all, homecoming was approaching and he still didn’t have a date.

\---

The dance was on Lance’s mind constantly. One by one his classmates were pairing off. To his dismay, Jenny was already going with Jimmy and the _other_ Jenny, it turned out, had a boyfriend from another school. Even Hunk had found a date - some chick named Romelle that Lance had kind of been into until he discovered how _weird_ she was. 

Who he really wanted to ask was soon-to-be Homecoming Queen, Allura Altea. Tall, popular, poised, and with a hot accent to boot, she was his ideal girl in every way, but she was also way out of his league. For starters, she was a senior and he’d already embarrassed himself trying to impress her as an overly-cocky freshman the previous year. _Hi, I’m Lance and you’re right here in my arms._ The words and echoing laughter that had resulted still haunted him.

Tired of thinking about his dwindling prospects, Lance went to bed early that night. In the wee hours of the morning, he fell into a vivid dream.

It was homecoming. He was at the dance looking for his date, but he didn’t know who he had come with. 

Then, he saw her.

Standing with her back to him in a stunning aquamarine dress and a crown on top of her head, she was illuminated by a spotlight in the center of the dark crowd. Slowly, the tall form turned to him.

She was beautiful.

His homecoming queen.

But as Lance looked her up and down, he realized that his date wasn’t Allura, as the crown had led him to believe, or even a she at all. It was...

 _Shiro?_ Lance breathed.

It was the local hero, himself, in that dress.

Lance snickered at the odd sight but then he noticed the way Shiro’s chest looked in that low-cut gown.

 _Whoa…_ He mouthed and found himself grinning in his dream as ellation rose in his chest. Shiro, yes, _Shiro_ was his date.

Smitten, he moved towards him.

 _Lance, right?_ The older man said to him. And then they were dancing.

Lance didn’t care who saw or about the spectacle they were probably making. He was too honored, too awestruck that someone like Shiro would choose him.

They moved closer. Shiro’s body pressed flush against his and Lance found himself practically swept off his feet, wrapped in strong arms.

 _You’d better hurry up, Lance._ Shiro said in a low voice and even in his dream Lance erupted in goosebumps. His hand was taken by a metal one - _Don’t let Iverson catch you_ \- and placed on Shiro’s chest.

 _Holy shit…_ Lance trembled at having a full handful of Shiro tiddy. He’d have happily taken a hundred detentions for the privilege.

Next thing he knew, his chin was tilted upwards and Shiro was leaning in, his square jaw, his perfect mouth moving steadily closer. Eyes began to gently close. It was happening. Right there on the dance floor in front of everybody, they were going to-

Lance jerked awake on the verge of coming as soon as Shiro kissed him. His hand shot into his boxers to finish the job and fingertips fluttered over his lips imagining, pretending Shiro was still there.

Slowly, his hand slid from his mouth and he lay panting on the pillow. He stared at the ceiling in shock.

That time it had definitely been all Shiro.

Lance gulped in the dark wondering what it meant.

\---

Lance was quiet at lunch that day. There was a lot of chatter about homecoming and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to go anymore. No matter what happened at the dance, no matter who he ended up taking, it wouldn’t hold a candle to that dream. He wanted to go with Shiro but there was no way that was ever going to happen. Teachers weren’t allowed to take students and he’d never heard of two guys going together either. Lance had always wanted to make a name for himself, but what a spectacle that would be!

He sagged in his seat with stress and annoyance. Shiro had single-handedly managed to ruin homecoming for him! And aside from that, he was facing the very real prospect that he might be gay and kind of freaking out about it. After all, he was dreaming about a guy kissing him; what else could that mean? But then, it wasn’t like he didn’t like girls too... The whole thing was so confusing!

“What about you, Lance?” Once of his classmates asked.

“Lance? LANCE!” Pidge hollered at her spaced-out friend.

“Huh?” Lance jolted out of his fretting.

“Who’s your man crush?”

“My... what?” Lance blinked. The conversation had evidently moved on from homecoming.

“Your man crush. You know, a guy you’d go gay for or want to date if you were a girl?” Hunk explained.

“That’s a thing?” Lance remained skeptical. He wasn’t entirely certain that his friends weren’t making fun of him.

“Yeah. Totally.” Hunk assured him. “Mine’s Bobby Flay. I would _sooooo_ let him cook me dinner.” He was practically drooling and that gave Lance confidence.

“Uh, okay…” Lance turned to the handful of classmates making up his audience at the table. “I guess mine would be... Shiro.”

Gasps sounded and the table immediately erupted in laughter.

“What?” Lance grew flustered.

“Oh my god, dude!” Hunk laughed loudly and beat his palm on the table next to Pidge who was sputtering ‘Shiro... He said SHIRO’ over and over. “You’re supposed to pick, like, a celebrity or something. Not someone you actually _know!_ ”

“I- I didn’t know that!” Lance turned red up to his ears.

“Matt says- Matt says good choice.” Pidge gasped for air amidst her laughter and pointed at her phone.

“What the fuck? You already told Matt?!” Lance cried and made a mental note to never tell Pidge anything again. Little blabbermouth couldn’t keep her trap shut.

“ _Lance loves Sheewo. Lance loves Sheewo._ ” An obnoxious chorus was started and a few others at the table joined in.

“Shut up! I do not! He was in PE last week and I just said the first name that came to mind!”

They kept singing anyway.

Lance hid in his hoodie and regretted ever trusting his friends.

As mortified as he was from the debacle at lunch, Lance felt more relieved than he had all week sitting in the back of his math class.

A man crush. That’s all it was. He wasn’t gay. 

He looked over at Alyssa Hamilton’s uniform pulled tight over her breasts.

Nope. _Definitely_ not gay. 

He didn’t like guys. He just liked Shiro. 

And there was nothing wrong with that.

The classroom door opened and, lo and behold, who should be behind it but Number One Man Crush Takashi Shirogane, himself. Lance leaned dreamily into his hand and watched him cross the room to speak with Professor Coran. He let himself look freely this time because honestly anyone who didn’t find Shiro attractive needed to get their eyes checked.

Captivated, Lance sighed happily. Shiro looked so damn _good_. Were Garrison issued uniforms always that tight, he wondered. In a matter of days he’d gone from not being sure if it was okay to look at Shiro like that to understanding exactly what this was - a man crush, his new favorite kind of crush.

Lost in his thoughts and savoring the eye candy, it took Lance a while to realize why Shiro was there and that he wasn’t alone. There was a student he didn’t recognize with him. Shiro’s hand was on his shoulder.

“There’s going to be a new cadet joining your squad today,” Shiro announced to the class as he stood next to the young man he’d brought with him. “I’ve gotten to know him over the last few months and I hope you’ll all welcome him too.” Shiro smiled warmly.

The new student was given the floor to introduce himself. With an unsure glance at Shiro followed by a reassuring nod, he cleared his throat and appeared nervous. Lance, however, had already lost interest and gone back to staring at his newfound man crush. Deep in a day dream, he was wistfully reliving their slow dance.

“Um, hi. I’m- I’m Keith. Keith Kogane.”

That name ripped Lance out of his fantasy and had him zeroing in on the new student at the front of the room with sniper-like focus. Keith Kogane? As in _K. Kogane?_ The guy that had higher test scores than him?

Lance looked at him more closely this time. His haircut was annoying. So was the fact that Shiro practically had his arm around him.

“Why don’t you sit next to Lance back there?” Shiro suggested.

“Uh, who?” The new student blinked blankly while the class snickered.

Coran pointed to the empty desk beside Lance and instructed the new student to take a seat. Lance's stomach was doing murderous flip flops as he approached. This? _This_ was the guy that was outscoring him? Who had a faster mile time than him? Who was somehow buddy-buddy with Shiro? 

He was so angsty. And emo. 

And… And...

_Oh no…_

Lance busied himself in his notes while the new student sat down next to him. 

_No._

_No. No. NO!_

He definitely wasn’t...

Lance snuck a look at this K. Kogane character next to him right as he tucked a lock of dark hair behind his ear.

Lance gulped. 

_Cute._

No. No! It was okay to like Shiro. It _wasn’t_ okay to think this better-than-him asshole was cute.

K. Kogane got settled in the desk next to him and quietly opened his notebook. He sighed with frustration when his pen was out of ink.

“Hey, do you have a pen? Mine’s dead.”

Lance handed his over without another thought even though he didn’t have an extra.

“You’re that guy that starts fights...” Lance didn’t take his eyes off him.

“Maybe. And you are?”

“Uh, the name’s Lance? Haven’t you heard of me?” Lance sensed a little hostility and fired right back in kind. “I’m your biggest competition. You knocked me out of the number two slot last week.”

“Slot?”

“You know the rankings? They rank us every quarter. Did you seriously not know that?”

“Uh… I guess I didn’t. Sorry for beating you or whatever.” He casually tucked away another lock of unnecessarily long hair and went back to writing.

Lance was beyond irritated. This guy wasn’t even trying!

“How do you know Shiro?” Lance remained prickly as notes were scratched onto paper at the adjacent desk with _his_ pen.

“Huh? Oh, he’s my assigned mentor. Supposed to keep me on the straight and narrow so I don’t get kicked out or whatever.”

“A mentor? So you get to, like, hang out with him and stuff?”

“I’m required to.”

“Lucky…” Lance muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Lance grumbled. Maybe if he started punching people he’d get to hang out with Shiro too. “You know, I might get to spend some time with him later as well. He knows my friends. He saw me throw a punch and he says my mile time is-”

“What’s your deal?” K. Kogane blinked at him, bewildered. “Are you dating him or something?”

“What? No! I just think he’s really cool.” Lance’s eye tracked to the man at the front of the room who was wrapping up with Professor Coran.

The new student cocked his head at the talkative guy sitting next to him and made a mental note of something before moving his eyes to Shiro too.

“Yeah, I guess he is pretty cool.” A smile twitched on his lips that irritated Lance for two reasons. One, Shiro was his. No one else was allowed to think he was cool! And second, it somehow made this K. Kogane guy even cuter.

“What about you, Lance?” K. Kogane turned to him. “Are you cool?”

Lance couldn’t explain what it was about the way this new guy was looking at him, almost like he was asking him something that couldn’t be said out loud, searching him for it even. Lance had never felt so exposed, so scared, so _seen_. In a way that Lance was not yet ready to be seen and it terrified the life out of him.

“Professor Coran!” Lance leapt to his feet. “I need to be excused.”

“What? Whatever for?” 

Lance was already halfway packed up by the time the professor inquired.

“Forgot my pen.”

“What? Then why did you give me-” K. Kogane blinked in confusion. “Here. You can have it back.”

“Nope. Don’t want it.” Lance gave him the old talk to the hand ‘cause the face ain’t listening. “Smell you and your dumb mullet later, Kogane.”

Lance hurried back to his dorm. He was in a cold sweat and out of breath by the time he got there. He hastily let himself into his room and leaned against the back of the door.

What the hell had just happened? His heart beating so fast... What had Shiro done to him! It was like the floodgates had opened and unleashed something in him Lance wasn’t sure he wanted unleashed. Was he going to think every guy from there on out was cute? Was an endless string of man crushes to be his fate?

But that face. Those eyes. That stupid _mullet._

Why did he want to touch it so badly? 

He slid down the door to the floor with his face in his hands. Lance had vowed to hate this K. Kogane, to best him in every way possible, to prove he was the better, more deserving man. He was not allowed to think he was cute! Shiro was his man crush. His _only_ man crush. You were only allowed the one, right? That was the rule! Otherwise it might mean… something else.

But in that moment, with his heart aflutter from panic and adrenaline and pretty boys with stupid hair cuts, all Lance could think was...

_Dammit… Not another one._

  


**Author's Note:**

> Lance then went on to have a crush on Shiro - and Shiro only and definitely not Keith too - for several more years. He also took Pidge to homecoming. She wore a suit. :P
> 
> You can see Lance continue to navigate his bisexuality in _[Please Get F*cked Responsibly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10841472/chapters/24067320)_.
> 
> Enjoy the antics that cause Keith and Lance’s feelings to come to a head in _[Please Drink Responsibly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9514295/chapters/21516476)_.
> 
> Watch Lance come out to his family in _[Please Sext Responsibly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11811015)_.
> 
> Witness the newly minted couple, Keith and Lance, hook up with their smexy friend Shiro in _[Please Menage a Shiro Responsibly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12032556/chapters/27270585)_.
> 
> And experience the culmination of all the delicious drama in this entire AU in the on-going (and soon to be completed!) _[Please - - - - - - - - Responsibly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14577426/chapters/33686031)_. 
> 
>   
> **Comments and feedback are appreciated! Thank you for reading!**  
> 


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